Heroes and friends
by BokuNoDreamer
Summary: The world of heroes ... one of the most coveted spheres in the current world packed with people with superhuman abilities, called Quirks. What would a young man's journey look like? What kind of dangers and challenges would be faced? What kind of people would follow him? The friends, the familly... Is it a worthwhile endeavor? Fumikage Tokoyami and Ragaku Ajairou may discover!
1. (Prologue) Stampede In the Dark

**Hello everyone! I'm happy to meet you, this is the first fanfic I wrote in English. Modesty aside, ideas are coming up more and more, and I believe that the saga of Tokoyami and Ajairou will go through a lot of cool things. For an intro, that's it. I wish everyone a good reading**

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It was about midnight and a half. Although clouds in the sky, a full moon was responsible for illuminating the great forest in the rural area of Musutafu, Japan. Looking from above, it seemed a quiet night. But two people in the woods were about to live hell on Earth ...

"Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT! We need to run, Tokoyami!" Ajairou shouted to his friend as they fled through the dark forest, taking advantage of the fact that the villain who attacked them seemed to have retreated.

The raven-headed boy didn't respond, but he remained right behind of Ragaku Ajairou, though he showed a tortuous countenance, as if he were suffering in deep pain. The fight with the villain, even the short duration, was debilitating. In the corner of his eyes, Ajairou noticed that Fumikage had a cut on his head, which blew blood, though in a small amount. But it was not the time to worry yet, the priority was to take distance to flee away from the place of the attack.

During the flight, Ajairou came to stumble on a root and fell to the ground. Conveniently, his reflexes were enough to avoid a head hit and luckily his glasses didn't fall. Find it in the pitch of the forest and still during an escape would be practically impossible, complicating the getaway. He was an aspiring hero, but he needed that little thing to see clearly.

" _That damned lizard-faced ... I can't believe that the League of Villains ... is still willing to attack us ... the UA students ... and that bastard still managed to hurt me ... but, this isn't the time to worry about it. We have to get away!_ ". The words flew by Ajairou's thought, while the pair strayed as far as possible from the villain's attack. His heart seemed to be coming out of his mouth from the pressure of the moment, and he felt a slight uneasiness in the fingers of left hand.

The high density of tree trunks made them travel slightly different paths, but taking care to not get disjointed. " _Geez... I need to see if Tokoyami is okay as soon as we stop…_ ". Ajairou was worried if his friend could have some serious injury, especially in the middle of the forest without being able to be rescued. At least, the boy with glasses had some bandages that might be useful.

The only thing that allowed the duo to roam in the darkness was the light reflected by the moon, faintly illuminating their way. This allowed to they avoid collisions with numerous trees and especially a gorge, which could provide an arm or a broken leg after a fall. Even with a few minutes on the run, and apparently no sign of the villain who attacked them, the rush still lingered.

Suddenly, the exhaustion began. After another few minutes in stampede, the pair finally decided to stop. "Tokoyami !?", Ajairou called for his friend, believing he was right behind, but didn't realize that the bird boy had stayed meters back. An affliction came to him when he didn't see his friend and he heard slow footsteps, crushing the dry leaves of the forest floor and was coming right to him. Ragaku put himself on guard for a round 2 against the villain, but there was no need to do anything. Fortunately, Ajairou can breathe a sigh of relief as he saw the characteristic beak of Fumikage Tokoyami, emerging from behind the trees. "Are you ok?" Ajairou asked. "You stayed behind and I heard noises, I thought he had come back ..."

"... Pff ... A ... A-Ajairou ... y-yeah, I ... I'm good ... aargh ...", Tokoyami replied, although his expression showed absolutely the opposite. Ajairou thought to contradict, analyzing his state, when it was interrupted by a babbling of the bird boy; "It's very strong ... very ... very strong ... but I ... I ... n-need to ... hold ooOOOOOOOONNN",

This last scream surprised Ajairou, who was properly astonished by Fumikage's behavior. Ragaku thinking that the reason for Tokoyami's suffering was the hurt on his head, one of the few times he could see the hide skin below those black feathers. However, the boy's last comment made him worry even more. " _Please, please, let it not be that ..._ ", the pain didn't seem to come from the injury, and Ajairou thought afraid, imagining the worst ... but the unpleasant sight of his bloody and upset friend didn't allow the boy to keep himself.

"Tokoyami, I need to see if this cut is too deep. We need to go back to- AAAARGH!", suddenly a fierce pang of pain ran through Ajairou's nerves, from the fingers of his left hand, especially the little and the ring ... or rather, of what's left of them.

"Aaaahh ... uh ... damn it ... DAMN, that Spinner bastard! Fucking pain ... aarh ... I can't believe… fuck… I lost a finger to that gecko! Son of a bitch! ". With the release of adrenaline, the pain arose and Ajairou finally realized that he had really lost his little finger in the fight against the villain Spinner, who had attacked the pair.

"A-... Ajairou! ... What ... the ... arghh ... what is it?" Tokoyami, still in torment, asked, for he had not realized that his friend had been wounded.

And really ... Tokoyami and Ajairou had been attacked overnight in a forest near Fumikage house. The villain who ambushed them was Spinner, a lizard skin guy who appears to be a staunch follower of Stain, the famous Heroes Killer. The villain shouted that in the name of the League of Villains he would take dead or alive the student Fumikage Tokoyami, who was almost kidnapped a few weeks ago. Apparently, the boy's immense power stood out in the eyes of the villains, assuming that alive he would be an acquisition to the team or at least a tool of exchange, now with the leader All for One imprisoned on extremely high security. In the last case, his death would serve to prevent the emergence of a hero that would cause problems ahead, and in this topic Ajairou also fit.

Even if it was a brief fight, it was a difficult time for the pair of future heroes. Spinner had advanced fighting skills as well as a great ability to handle cutting weapons. The battle was arduous mainly because Tokoyami couldn't count on the full force of his Dark Shadow (since they were immersed in the darkness of the forest, where his individuality becomes rebellious) and that, due to the absence of solar rays, one of Ajairou's Quirks wasn't available for use.

Although, given the disadvantages, both boys were alive, which mattered most. However, shortly after Tokoyami's Dark Shadow made a massive attack that made Spinner retreat, a knife was launched from the darkness by the lizard, towards the heart of Fumikage, stunned and vulnerable trying to regain control of his Quirk. Dark Shadow was having his wrath fueled by darkness.

For a moment, it seems that one of Ajairou's Quirk, superhuman reflex, worked even in the absence of sunlight. It was the best thing that could have happened at the moment and that allowed him to save Tokoyami's life by pushing him out of the blade's path. Otherwise there would be a result of a dead student and another psychologically degenerate by the murder of his friend before his eyes. However, it was during this moment that the dagger, continuing its deadly route, cut Ajairou's fingers, responsible for his anguish at the moment.

Ventely, when they stopped after the escape, there was no evidence that Spinner or anyone else was following them. Even with the pain, Ajairou didn't fail to notice that the night pitch had intensified, due to a formation of clouds that moved in front of the moon. Darkness increased, as did Tokoyami's disruption, which left the situation more terrible.

The whole situation created a great deal of stress, adrenaline bubbled through their bodies. The exacerbated "fight or flight" instinct instilled in the duo a degree of miosis so persistent that waiting for the sight to adjust to the dark wasn't an option. Using his right hand, that there were some lacerations but, fortunately was entire and functional, Ajairou pulled out his cell phone and turned on the flashlight to check the damage on his left hand. He don't know how deeply he would repent of this act ...

The sight was not pretty, which was obvious. When the light came on, the pain seemed to increase ... in fact, the blade cut off all of her little finger, and a part of the ring finger was also cut together, hung only by a lint of flesh. Ajairou twisted his face in pain and disgust at the sight.

" _How do I stop this blood?", "And the other finger, will I lose it?", "How am I going to explain this to the other people?", "Does it affect my Quirk?_ " , " _Is going to infect?_ " The situation caused questions to fly through Ajairou's mind ... but he felt the biggest garbage on the face of Earth when he realized that in the midst of his selfish thoughts he was forgetting something crucial: Your friend! Ajairou immediately turned to check.

"TOKOYAMI, ARE YOU AL... right?" Suddenly, despair became concern. The crow boy had a completely perplexed look, fixed on Ajairou's wound. He even ceased his snarls of suffering. Ragaku was also astonished to see the face of Tokoyami, fearing for the psychological of his friend. Quickly, he hung up the lantern to spare the bird boy from that unpleasant sight.

"W ... When ... when did this happened, Ajairou?" Tokoyami asked, incredulous from his sight.

"That was when that bastard threw that knife ... I was reckless, keep my left arm fluttering and vulnerable." Ajairou's pain was fading, giving way to a mixture of discontent with his failure and, especially, a tension over Tokoyami's mind state.

"..." ... Ajairou realized that Fumikage wanted to say something, but it seemed that the words were stuck in his throat.

... until finally they came ...

"... it was ... it was my fault"

"TOKOYAMI, DON' T SAY THIS! Do not blame yourself, It was my failure, you can't just throw that burden on you. No! You can't! "Ajairou even forgot the pain in uttering those words. Ragaku never looked at Tokoyami as guilty of his injury, listening to him assuming a mistake that was not his own created an inconceivable situation of being silent.

"Of course it was, Ajairou! You jumped to save me, it was then! ... Was then… If I was not so weak, so pathetic ... you wouldn't need ... you would not have ..." the expression of anguish of Tokoyami gradually increased after his speech.

"Do not you dare demote yourself this way," Ajairou said those words with an hatred intonation, though obviously involuntary. " _You're incredible, Tokoyami… don't do this to you"._ "We're alive, a finger is a reasonable price for that. Look, we can survive an attack from a villain at a disadvantage ..." Ajairou's argument was based primarily on time and environment. Tokoyami, however, was not accepting the situation well, and the pair began to discut.

"Fine, what if you jumped at the wrong time? You could have died in my spot!"; "We can't work with 'IF', that's not what happened, it's past '; "Then as you don't work with possibilities, I must remind you that it was I who come up with the idea of coming here to train at night"; "And both of us were going to know that we would be attacked? It was a fatality, we don't have what to make, man! Take on the blaming isn't going to reverse things, it will worsen eve-"; "SHUT UP!". And it was getting worse, after all. The nerves were starting to get anger between the pair when, suddenly after shout to the boy with glasses to shut up, Tokoyami shrank in anguish and began to whisper;

"Pathetic ... and how does someone like ... arrgh ... like me who got into a situation like that ... uff ... even can CALL HIMSELF OF A HERO ?", Ajairou realized that the emphasis in the final stretch of the speaks of bird boy came accompanied of intense anguish.

" _DON'T STAY UNDERESTIMATING YOURSELF!_ ", Ajairou thought of screaming, but something was very wrong with the bird ... it really seemed to be ... it.

It's true ... Ajairou finally had to gulp the possibility that Tokoyami is losing control of Dark Shadow. Given all the variables, an unfortunate combination was being provided for disaster. Darkness, danger, emotional imbalance ... even seeming inevitable, Ajairou decided to persist.

"Tokoyami ... listen to me ... it's Dark Shadow, isn't it?", Tokoyami looked quickly and directly at the face of the boy with glasses, even not responding verbally, his gaze was more than enough for Ajairou to note which the crow had nodded with the questioning. "Oh no ..."

"We have to go back, NOW! Let's do what we can, you'll be able to resist it, I know it will!" Even with the encouraging words and helping his friend to walk, the fate seemed sealed. "No ... aaaaaaarrrrghhh ... n-no ... no, no, I can't! A ... A-Ajairou, he ... he's doing everything ... pff ... pfff ... he's go- ... he's going to leave ... he is, he's v-very strong! ", Tokoyami's effort to stop the demon seemed descommunal.

Ajairou was perplexed, he had notion that Tokoyami couldn't submit to the destructive desire of Dark Shadow, especially in that situation. His ex-finger and his hanging ring finger have disappeared from their worries, there was something extremely serious to deal with at the moment.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit ... Tokoyami, I know you're giving it your all ... but if you do not resist, I understand ... I shouldn't have yelled at you ... it served as food for the fury of Dark Shadow ... I'm such a fool, I'm don't believe that I not able to understand my best friend's feelings ... _and now Ajairou? Think! You got yourself into this, you're have to solve!_ "

"Dude, you're doing great, we're making progress," was a white lie to motivate the raven, Ajairou didn't really know if he was heading for the forest exit. That's when the worst happened ...

"HHUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGHHH!", Fumikage's agonizing cry seemed to be able to freeze the spine of anything alive. The timing of the calamity seemed imminent.

"A-AJAIROU, I CAN'T! I DOESN'T ... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGH! E-ESCAPE, PLEASE! ... I ... I FAILED... HE IS COMING ..."

" **RROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaAARRRRR**!" ... And, in an instant, the 'revelry in the dark' began. Ajairou hid behind a nearby tree, with a terror so intense that it made his entire body tingle. The corrupted image of Dark Shadow, swollen by the darkness and rendering it extremely frightening, provided a sense of paralysis in the remotest corners of the soul. The demon, before with small, friendly yellow eyes, now showed a thirst for blood in his large red eyes. Not enough as the intimidating Quirk, one more thing made Ajairou find himself in an extreme situation:

His friend, his BEST friend, Fumikage Tokoyami, was the source of vicious darkness. Fumikage was in incomparable suffer, with expressions and cries of torture that Ajairou had never witnessed. At that moment, Ajairou did not bother to escape, the only thing that filled his mind was "I HAVE TO SAVE YOU!"

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 **I apologize if there were mistakes in writing, I am not what you can call fluent in English, but I try to work.**

 **So will Ajairou be able to save his friend? And speaking of it, what exactly will be the Quirks of Ajairou? One tip: his name is adapted from Ajairo Kagaku, whose meaning reflects his individualities.**

 **I hope you have enjoyed it, any criticisms or suggestions are very welcome.**

 **A big hug, and see you in chapter 2!**


	2. (Prologue) Revelry In the Dark

The fear of the pair of future heroes became reality. The foliage trembled violently with the sudden gust of wind that had struck the place. The dump of darkness was provided by Dark Shadow, who had emerged with intense fury from the interior of Fumikage Tokoyami's body. Meanwhile, his best friend, Ragaku Ajairou, was hiding, watching petrified the situation behind an oak tree. Even though he had already witnessed Dark Shadow out of control, he had never seen the Tokoyami's demon in such a terrifying, so intimidating way. And even more impressive, it was to see his friend struggling, exhausting his energies to contain the shadow.

"DARK SHADOW! STOP IT... CALM DOWN!". Shouted the boy with the crow head in an attempt to quiet his Quirk, a perseverance in vain. He knew that once in fury, Dark Shadow was unconquerable and the only thing that could reverse the situation was the light.

It was ironic ... even if it was a mere weakness, Ajairou and Tokoyami were trapped at that juncture, unable to be resolute quickly. If Todoroki or Bakugou were accompanying them, as it had been the other time, everything would be resolved in seconds. But the reality wasn't this ... Ajairou needed to end the revelry in the dark with his own hands. On the other side, Fumikage was struggling vigorously, his teeth clenched, and the pupils of his red eyes severely contracted were proof of his sacrifice.

" **FUMIKAGE... YOU CAN'T STOP ME!... NOW I'AM GOING TO HAVE FUN!** ". The shrieking of Dark Shadow rattled the forest, birds a mile away fleed and the trees seemed maddened by the demonic breeze. Any unprepared person would simply stop fighting and accept fate, such the pressure that Quirk exerted. But, Ajairou was not simple someone ... he was determined to save his friend, no matter as.

"AJAIROU!... !... IF... IF YOU ARE THERE... RUN! OR... Y-YOU... YOU WILL DIE!", Tokoyami's pleas for fear of his colleague's life flooded Ajairou with anguish, as if they were daggers being nailed to his chest. However, the student with the detonated fingers couldn't even think of abandoning Fumikage in suffering. " _I'm sorry ... I can not obey you, Tokoyami ... even if it is necessary for me to give my life, I'll get you out of this situation._ ", Ajairou thought determinedly. The boy sat with his back to the tree that served as his shelter to ponder what kind of trickery to adopt.

Tokoyami screamed in agony in an uninterrupted way. The young bird was giving it his all. However, the demonic shadow was powerful, and little by little, while it undermined its host, it took care of the situation. " **KAGE, YOU ARE WASTING YOUR ENERGY... AS YOU WILL BE GIVING ME TICKLES, I'LL DO A WARM UP!** ". Dark Shadow began to break the nearby trees with such ease that it looked like a hot knife cutting cheese.

It was not enough that the whole situation was already a bizarre conjuncture, the fact that Dark Shadow call its holder by 'Kage', the friendly nickname that he used under normal conditions, made Ajairou reverberate over the dark entity. " _Why, Dark Shadow? I see you love your owner, so why do you makes him suffer like this? Why?_ ". Ajairou tucked his nails into the oak, fueled by the rage of see a friend in agony provided by the thing he held in his body. Even though it was a shadow, it was flesh of his flesh, blood of his blood ... and it was killing him.

While the two boys degenerated their minds, Dark Shadow barely seemed to care. Trunks were shredded while the shadow proffered a laughter that emanated inexorable wickedness. Ajairou mentally tried to block the evil influence of Quirk, the moment for think was sacred, but getting out of his influence was difficult. After a few seconds, the demon, after a devastating warming, finally seemed to focus, to demonstrate that his intention was not to serve as a topiary destroying some trees, which it really wanted ...

... was to destroy someone.

" **I think it's already good for a start... now, I want to kill someone, Kage... starting with your friend, behind that oak!** ", "STOP! DON'T TOUCH HIM, DARK SHADOW ! "A sudden terror sprang up on Ajairou's countenance, and abruptly, without even looking back, he jumped from his protection, thousandths before Dark Shadow shattered the tree with one of his claws. It was an extremely powerful blow, much more than other times he was out of control. The boy with glasses, in pity, realized that the moment had no room for failure. " _If I make a mistake, it's our end._ " Ajairou decided to run, in order to think ... Dark Shadow, in anger, shattered the nearby trunks in the attempts to tear the boy apart.

Ragaku hid yourself among dense thickets to reason, since the demon was busy destroying the place in his search. " _He wants to kill me, but his anger is so big that it reducing his focus... and Tokoyami is blocking him too... that gives me an edge to advantage... ...Tokoyami ...how can you live with something like that on your body?... You're amazing..._ ". Ajairou has always been admired for the versatility of Fumikage be a "two-in-one" individual, mainly because the boy was aware that his shadow could enter this frenzied state but at the same time, the raven boy in his daily life almost no show concern for the possibility.

The duo needed a light in their path (literally). But they were in the middle of the forest, and Ajairou didn't even know which way to go. In an initial attempt, he thought of using his cell phone's flashlight. It was a silly idea, even himself had notion of it, but he had to seize any chance. Ajairou put their hand in their pockets, when a scream came from the midst of deforestation. " **THERE ARE YOU!** ". Ajairou narrowly escaped an agile onslaught of the black claw of Dark Shadow, who eventually ripped the shrubs from refuge by the roots. The distraction with the phone had almost made Ajairou fail.

" _Shit, shit, shit! … That was close! Do not let your guard down, you jerk!_ ". Ajairou took a wandering trajectory to escape. During the chase, Tokoyami, who was slowly being swallowed by darkness, saw Dark Shadow grab the Ajairou's jacket and squeeze it like an orange. The bird boy uttered a distressing cry that reverberated as much as the Dark Shadow's, believing that it was the end of his friend. But, the relief came when he saw that his Quirk was cursing Ajairou for having him tricked. It was just his jacket being used as bait, which caught the demon immediately. " _I had to use your strategy, Uraraka!_ ". It was a excellent trick, but of limited use. Ajairou took refuge in some moderately distant shrubs, taking advantage of the chance.

It was still time to try using the flashlight. The tension of the moment was so great that Ajairou took the cell phone with his injured left hand and the pain didn't arise, not even remembered that it was without the little finger and the ring hanging only by a few lint of skin. The boy used his good fingers to hold on, the desire for his determination to execute that attempt was such that he almost tried to use his old pinky. He aimed his cell phone, but before he could turn on the flashlight, Dark Shadow's claw suddenly emerged from far into the darkness, tearing and crumpling the cell phone from his hand. Ajairou was taken aback by such a long-distance attack.

The recoil of his hand eventually ripped the flesh that kept his ring finger on his body, and his finger had finally fallen. But luckily, Ajairou held the phone with only three good fingers, which prevented the finger from being crushed along with the device.

" _Damn it, fucking pain! ... argh ..._ ", licks of pain punished Ajairou, while Dark Shadow finished atomize his phone. When Ragaku got up, he noticed his finger separated from the body, resting in the nearby grasses, and decided that he could not stay with only eight fingers in his hands. " _Okay ... maybe I'm optimistic ... but I think the Recovery Girl can take care of it later..._ " Ajairou thought as he catch his finger and resisted the pain.

"AJAIROU, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! ... LE ... LEAVE ME BEHIND... SAVE YOURSELF!", meanwhile Tokoyami shouted these words, Dark Shadow applied another hit at Ajairou, using a claw to apply an overwhelming punch in the thicket where the boy was hiding. Ragaku managed to avoid the blow, leaping to his right.

"DON'T TRY TO PREVENT ME, TOKOYAMI! I'LL TAKE YOU AWAY FROM THIS SITUATION!". Ajairou lower as he ran to reduce Dark Shadow's accuracy, infuriated by the eagerness to murder the boy. " _I need your cooperation, man ..._ "

Ajairou hid behind another tree, believing that Dark Shadow hadn't seen him. Running in such darkness was complicated, especially as an enraged Dark Shadow was incomparably more dangerous than Spinner, who had faced Ajairou and Tokoyami moments before. Ironically, the devil's bright red eyes provided a dim light, but enough that the double Quirk boy didn't commit a fatal mistake, colliding in some tree and being at the mercy of his predator.

Ragaku thought he had gone far enough that the shadow didn't realize his new refuge. However, the game of "hide and seek" left Ajairou breathless and accidentally reveal his hiding place. Coming from his right, a blow so powerful it looked like a black blade razed the vegetation of the place. If Ajairou lowered himself a few hundredths of a second later, no doubt the Dark Shadow attack would have decapited him, he would be dead like those trees. The boy had to dodge from the crumbling treetops that has been falling around, and immediately afterwards, another stampede, for he was vulnerable again.

The hunted boy tried to run into a covered area. While he was exposed, Ajairou had to sidestep an overwhelming attack that had picked up his right arm. The onslaught tore at his shirt and caused some scratches, but nothing that invalidated him. Cleverly, under the protection of the forest, Ajairou decided to lower the flexible branches of the plants above his path. Despite the first impression that some branches would not stop the demon's attack, the plants eventually enraged him. The annoyance of the vegetables caused the shadow to linger for a few moments to eradicate the inconvenient sticks of the face of the planet.

Even with the extreme situation, Ajairou smiled to see that his idea was successful, and managed a considerable distance to find a refuge where to devise a new strategy. " _Now I know how All Might feels ... smiling even face-to-face to the death ... that's what you were talking about, isn't it ... Midoriya?_ ". This time, Ajairou hid behind a ravine, and immediately caught his breath not to reveal its location. Remembering your school friend made him think thoughts of how your classmates could have helped him to quickly get out of the risky context.

In the distance, the boy could hear a angered Dark Shadow: " **IF YOU THINK YOU CAN TRICK ME, THINK RIGHT ... I'M STILL ONLY STARTING, AND YOU ... YOU'RE GETTING TIRED, AJAIROU!** ". Listening to the shadow uttering his name made him twist his stomach in fear ... and worse ... he fully agreed about his fatigue. The situation took an aggravating course, now Ajairou needed to escape while holding his breath, and the Tokoyami's screams of also hindered the reasoning. Even with the frenzy of his host, Dark Shadow showed keen senses and not even become little shaken. Fumikage could barely interfere with his actions.

But despite all the trouble, Ajairou at least needed to try. Fortunately, it seems that this time he was right to choose his hiding place, since Dark Shadow didn't seem to have any idea of his shelter.

"STAY QUIET... DARK SHADOW !", " _Incredible, he is still resist..._ ", Tokoyami persisted in his attempts to regain control, with undoubted resistance. Ajairou understood the effort the crow was making, he was also prottect the life of his fellow. However, the moment reserved the construction of a plan and a flood of thoughts came to light:

" _Dark Shadow is weak against the light... but I have no source of light to use, and unfortunately I'm alone... if anyone who emitted light was here, things would be easier... maybe Todoroki with his flames, Bakugou with his explosions... Aoyama with his Laser Navel, Kaminari with his electricity... Yaoyorozu with her light grenades... I do not think I'm able to attract the Dark Shadow out of the forest. Even I don't know how to get out... but I have to act soon, I don't know how long Tokoyami will be able to handle._ "

The moment seemed like a mental version of Midoriya in his thinking reveries. Ajairou was so shock that he was trying to find his cell phone in his clothing, forgetting that Dark Shadow had reduced it to dust. His intention was to communicate to someone, just as his friends did in the incident at Hosu, involving Stain and multiple Nomus. When he remembered the end of the device, the frustration was painful, he thought of the valuable time she wasted on this distraction. The boy took advantage that Dark Shadow did not know his position and finally had a chance to apply a bandage on his severed fingers, when he reflected. " _Come on Ajairou, come on ... what you can do ? What would Todoroki do? What would Iida do? Kirishima ... Midoriya ... what would you do Midoriya?_ ".

" _What would YOU do, Tokoyami?_ "

" **Poor Kage ... why do you keep resisting? Surrender, and enjoy I reducing that bag of meat to a handful of innards! You don't need anyone, I'm more than enough for you, Fumikage...** ". Dark Shadow coldly imprinted a psychological tension. In fact, with broken minds, preys were easier to kill. Tokoyami couldn't let the shadow's provocation in silence. "YOU WILL NOT TOUCH A FINGER IN HIM! EVEN IF ... EVEN MY BODY IS ... D-DESTROYED ... I TRUST ... THAT HE WILL STOP IT ... I KNOW HE- "AAAAAAAAARRGGGHHHHHHH"

" **... Besides, I've already saw you, RAGAKU AJAIROU!** ".

Immediately, the bandage fell from his hands and he brace himself for the worst.

" **DIIIEEEEEEEE!** ", "NOOOOOOOOOO, AJAIROOOOUU!" The screams of Dark Shadow and Tokoyami made Ajairou's thoughts fly. Out of pure instinct, the boy made an escape, but nothing attacked him and he felt a great earthquake accompanied by a massive noise nearby. Ragaku realized that Dark Shadow had just murder an animal, which through the remains appeared to be a rabbit, summed up in a bloody blur.

" **BLOOD, FINALLY!** ", Dark Shadow celebrated, and Ajairou watched with disgust the red liquid of the animal dripping from the claws of shadow.

However, something ended up drawing even more attention. Amidst the noise of the wreckage from the demon's blow, Ajairou heard the deep lament of his friend, who hadn't yet realized that he was alive. "AJAIROU! ... My goodness ... no ... NO! WHAT DID I DO?!" WHY ... WHY I HAVE TO BE CURSED LIKE THAT!?", Tokoyami screamed in the sobs of his weeping, at the same time that Dark Shadow disgustingly devoured portions of the poor being that he had just taken his life. Agairou noticed that Tokoyami was almost completely engulfed by the darkness, with only his arms and beak exposed. Because of this, Tokoyami was not able to respond to visual stimuli, guiding himself only by the sound.

The pain of the crow boy, suffering for the supposed death of his best friend, made tears flood Ajairou's eyes. " _I don't believe ... we're just teenagers ... we just want to follow our dream ... to be happy ... make people happy ... and we're like this ... Why? ... why everything needs to be so difficult? Tokoyami ... I'm sorry ... it's going to sound hypocritical, but I yelled at you for the same reason, and that's why I created this situation ... it's my fault_ ".

Ajairou had lost the light of his thoughts, it was not understandable that they had to go through so much martyrdom to reach their goal of life. The two boys had entered the forest with the intention of training the control of Tokoyami's Dark Shadow in the darkness, a danger that they ran because it was part of their evolution ... was part of the road to be heroes.

" **MORE... I NEED MORE!... AJAIROU, WHERE ARE YOU?! I'M NOT GOING TO HURT YOU... SHOW YOURSELF!"** Sooner or later, Dark Shadow would find him. "A -... A-Ajairou? AJAIROU! PLEASE ... GI- ... GIVE ME A S-SIGN THAT YOU ARE ... ARE ALIVE! PLEASE!...". When he heard his friend's name, Tokoyami begged Ragaku to show that he was alive to relieve his torment. However, the one who was tormented at the time was Ajairou himself, who found himself in a dilemma. He could not shout at the bird boy, as that would reveal his position.

As tortuous as it was to see his friend in psychological pain, he shouldn't show himself, it could lead things to a tragic end. " _FORGIVE ME, TOKOYAMI! ... Forgive me ... you will need to hold out a little longer ... I swear by everything, I am giving my utmost ... I'm sorry to leave you suffering ... sorry ... sorry..._ ", Ajairou was not able to hold back the tears. " _Can I even call myself a hero? A hero would leave his best friend in agony for so long?_ ", The scenario was too much for him to bear.

Suddenly, a part of the dead animal, which must have been the remains of the back paw of a slaughtered rabbit, was thrown close to where he was. Ajairou was surprised and wiped away the tears, hoping it was just a coincidence and that Dark Shadow was not anticipating an attack. But as he focused on the bloody, broken organ, a light bulb shined in his mind. The synapses in his head were activated, and practically in a miracle, he had an idea. And it looked promising... he needed a favorable combination of factors to get it into action.

" _What kind of bullshit I was thinking ... we are heroes ... obviously the journey is not a flowery field! How ridiculous, Ajairou ... others shouldn't suffer for my dream and I shouldn't put them on judgment ...!But I ... I need to be put to the limit!... Face difficulties ... overcome yourself... 'Plus Ultra', isn't it?... This is a test ... you are building its foundations in the way of the heroes ... and now, you are meant to do what a hero really does..._ "

" _... SAVE LIFES!_ ". A look of determination filled Ragaku Ajairou's face.

He had how to save his friend!


End file.
